Having excess weight isn’t just about looks and questionable beauty standards: first of all, it’s a matter of health and quality of life.
In today’s post, Dr. Mario B. Pereira, an internal medicine expert here at Comprehensive Care Group of South Florida, gives a comprehensive overview on how the extra pounds can impair one’s day-to-day life—and how medical nutrition therapy may help.
Decreased quality of sleep
Having excess weight and obesity increases your risk of sleep apnea and snoring, two conditions that severely impair quality of sleep. It’s easy to imagine where everything goes after that: low energy levels, bad mood, reduced productivity, and lack of motivation. It’s hard to live life to the fullest when you don’t sleep well at night.
Severely limited physical activity
Hitting the gym isn’t the only form of physical activity that gets tougher when you have excess weight. Having sex with your spouse, playing football with your kids, enjoying a morning run with your dog, or even just going up the stairs—all of these everyday activities can become exhausting due to obesity.
Increased cardiovascular risk
Excess weight is one of the most significant modifiable factors that affect heart health. You could say that the heart of an overweight person is dealing with extra load all the time, and this has a detrimental effect on this vital organ in the long run. Additionally, excess weight and obesity increase the risk of developing varicose veins.
Increased risk of developing diabetes
Excess weight and obesity is a major risk factor for the development of diabetes, a chronic disease that leads to severe impairment of the body’s ability to process carbohydrates. As a result, massive dietary and lifestyle changes are required to manage the condition, and some people will have to take anti-diabetic medications to enjoy the meals they used to eat.
Increased risk of developing cancer
Some studies indicate that about 20% of all cancers may be partially caused by obesity. More specifically, the poor dietary and lifestyle choices that had led to excess weight may be the issue.
Impaired hormonal health in men
Adipose (fatty) tissue is known to produce an enzyme called aromatase. Aromatase transforms the testosterone produced in males into estrogens, eventually resulting in severe hormonal imbalance and even infertility. The more body fat a man has (especially in the abdominal area), the higher his levels of aromatase will be.
Conclusion
Excess weight and obesity are unpleasant health issues that severely impair one’s quality of life. The good news is that these problems can be fixed with the right knowledge and a bit of qualified weight loss help from an experienced nutritionist.
Nutritional therapy is effective and safe, contrary to the weight loss pills or extreme diets you may see around every once in a while. For more information and a personal consultation, make an appointment with our doctors and start improving your life today!